My name is Carlo DeVito, and I am the author of East Coast Wineries: A Complete Guide from Maine to Virginia published by Rutgers University Press. This blog is dedicated to primarily east coast wines and wineries including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It will also feature products and information from other regions.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

NY DRINKS NY SPECIAL COVERAGE - MACARI VINEYARDS

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Macari Vineyards Early Wine Chardonnay 2012

Macari Vineyards is one of my favorite Long Island producers.

Macari Vineyards, located on the North Fork of Long Island in Mattituck, New York, is owned and operated by the Macari Family. The winery was founded by owners Joseph Macari Sr., his wife, Katherine, and Joseph Macari Jr., who is at the helm of the winery with his wife, Alexandra and their children. The Macari family has owned the 500-acre waterfront estate for over fifty years, though Macari Vineyards was not established until 1995. In June 2009, the Macari family opened a second tasting room located on the Main Road in the town of Cutchogue, adding twenty acres of vines to their vineyard. Joseph Macari Jr. has been about biodynamic principals since the vineyard’s first plantings.

And they make wonderful wines.

One of my favorites is the Early Wine Chardonnay. The idea is that the white wine is released three months after it's been harvested. I am always amazed by this. Especially so because it is always a quality wine. The 2012 Edition is no exception. It has a great nose full of fresh, green apples, and peach and paricot and mango, with a hint of lemon. The green apples come through on the palate, and finishes nicely with a citrus lemn, lime, grapefruit finnish. Fantastic!

Obviously, the Macari family deserves praise for their portflio, but the real nod needs to go to Kelly Urbanik, who is really coming into her own as one of the better winemakers on the North Fork. Kelly is from St. Helena, California. Kelly grew up working her grandfather’s vineyard and making homemade wine with her father and grandfather. Kelly received a Bachelor of Sciencedegree from University of California, Davis in Viticulture and Enology. She has worked at a number of prestigious wineries including Beringer in California and Maison Louis Jadot in France under the tutelage of legendary winemaker Jacques Lardière. Kelly arrived to the North Fork of Long Island in 2006 and has since been honored with many winemaking awards and recognitions including 90+ points from Wine Spectator, medals from the New York Wine and Food Classic (including best in category), medals from the International Woman's Wine Competition and honors from Decanter and Wine Enthusiast magazines. For years she was regarded as a wonder kid, but I have to say that her body work now puts her into an upper echelon of winemakers on the island and in New York state.

The portfolio across the board is impressive, from the Chardonnay Reserve, to their Rose', to their very consistent and impressive line of dry reds, the Macari line continues to shine and improve.

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About Me

Carlo DeVito is a long time wine lover, and author of books and magazine articles. He is the author of Wineries of the East Coast. He has traveled to wine regions in California, Canada, up and down the east coast, France, Spain and Chile. He has been a published executive for more than 20 years. He shepherded the wine book program of Wine Spectator as well as worked with Kevin Zraly, Oz Clarke, Matt Kramer, Tom Stevenson, Evan Dawson, Greg Moore, Howard Goldberg, and many other wine writers. He has also published Salvatore Calabrese, Jim Meehan, Clay Risen, and Paul Knorr.
Mr. DeVito is the inventor of the mini-kit which has sold more than 100,000,000 copies world wide. He has also publisher such writers as Stephen Hawking, E. O Wilson, Philip Caputo, Gilbert King, James McPherson, John and Mary Gribbin, Thomas Hoving, David Margolick, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., John Edgar Wideman, Stanley Crouch, Dan Rather, Dee Brown, Susie Bright, and Eleanor Clift.
He is also the owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery, co-founder of the Hudson Berkshire Beverage Trail, and president of the Hudson Valley Wine Country.
https://carlodevito.wordpress.com/